Last week we went to an advising conference in Manchester, New Hampshire and had the blessed fortune of visiting Dancing Lion Chocolate. Have you seen the movie Chocolat? This little chocolatrie was of the same spirit. We spoke, at length, with Richard Tango-Lowery, Master Choclatier, founder, and owner of the store/cafe. Richard is a physicist by training and discovered his passion for chocolate in 1995 while living and working in California. He, with the support of his wife, decided that he should go ahead and pursue his dream, delving deeply into the science of chocolate making. It is truly a science. As he shared his journey with us, it was very clear to me that his physics background informed his craft every day. I do not think that he would be here without this training. Chocolate Making is quite STEMmy! There are MIT students currently working on chocolate projects at his store.

Listening to Richard, it was also clear he could not be a successful chocolatier and advocate for natural cacao farms if he was not an extremely hard worker and if he was not wholly invested in his sweet goals. Whatever you aim to do, do it with all that is in you. No half-stepping! There is a quote by Frank Clark in my e-mail signature, that I wholly believe in, "If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere."

Climbing is sweaty and, at times, painful. If you quit or half-step, not only will you fail to reach your goal, you will likely be eaten by a hyena named Regret.

Dream.Climb.Thrive.

Welcome! My name is Rachel Moody. I post weekly announcements and messages to motivate and inspire my UAlbany advisees, and any one else who visits. Comments are welcome! While you are here, have a virtual cup of tea!